


HAPPY BIRTHDAY

by jensenacklesruinedmylife



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Birthday, Dean's Birthday, Fluff, Happy, M/M, No angst at all, ok maybe an inkling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-25
Updated: 2014-01-25
Packaged: 2018-01-09 23:09:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1151903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jensenacklesruinedmylife/pseuds/jensenacklesruinedmylife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean doesn't usually like surprises, but this time, he makes an exception.</p>
            </blockquote>





	HAPPY BIRTHDAY

"What the hell?"

Dean doesn’t think he’s ever seen so many balloons in his entire life.

He didn’t even notice them on his way to the bathroom a few minutes before. On his way back to his bedroom, however, a red one floated by and caught his attention. Curious, he made his way out of the narrow hallway and into the open space that served both as a dining area and living room, only to find it filled to the brim with balloons. There are at least four in every color of the damn rainbow, and Dean’s first thought is that it’s a prank.

"Sam!" Dean yells, spinning on his heels and marching straight into Sam’s bedroom, just down the hall from his own. He slams open the door, which startles a bleary-eyed Sam, who lets out a yelp and ends up on the floor. 

"Dean, what the hell, man?" He groans, rubbing the arm that took the blunt of his two foot fall. 

Dean crosses his arms, “I should be asking you the same question.”

"What are you talking about?" Sam asks, and then groans again as he stands. He picks a t-shirt off of the bed and slides it on over his head. "Did something happen?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Dean replies, rolling his eyes. "What happened to the living room?" 

Sam raises his brows in that way that he does when he has absolutely no clue what’s going on. It happens a lot, so Dean’s learned to spot it from a mile away. 

"What…happened to the living room?" Sam’s already slipping past him before Dean has a chance to say a word. He turns and follows Sam back down the hall and into the living room. 

"Whoa!" Sam exclaims, "This is awesome!" 

"Not my definition of  _awesome_ ,” Dean mumbles, rubbing his eyes the with heels of his hands and blinking them open to make sure he’s actually awake. “Who would waste their time filling my apartment with balloons?”

Sam scoffs, hitting a few balloons out of the way to look Dean in the face, “Do you really have to ask?”

"Well, who —?" Dean freezes, because  _of course,_ he knows exactly who did this, and he wants to bang his head against a wall and melt in the warmth that’s spreading through his chest, simultaneously. 

Cas has a key to the apartment. Cas remembered his birthday. 

"You’re an idiot, you know that?" Sam laughs, and then rushes forward to tackle his brother to the ground. 

"Sam, what the - we’re too old for this man!" He struggles, but soon he’s laughing as well. 

"Happy birthday, ya old fart," Sam punches Dean in the shoulder before climbing off of him. "I owe you a lot more of those." 

"Way to kick a man when he’s down, Sammy," Dean grunts, sitting up and slapping Sam in the chest. 

"Ow! It’s not  _my_ birthday!” Sam complains, face twisted in mock pain. 

Dean stands, chuckling, “You just wait four months, little brother.” 

It’s then that there’s a knock on the door. Sam and Dean share a look; they both know who it is, and Sam winks at Dean.

"I’ll be in the shower…," he sings, jumping out of the way before Dean can hit him again. 

Dean hasn’t seen Castiel since Christmas. He was studying abroad somewhere in Europe (Italy, Dean thinks), and had been busy a lot of the time, so they hadn’t spoken much over the past month. But that wasn’t much of a big deal; they’d been friends for years, they could go a few days without talking 24/7. The big deal was this: the night he left town, Cas had kissed Dean. 

Dean had gone to see him off, along with a few other mutual friends. Cas had saved Dean as his last goodbye, and when they made the announcement for his flights last call, Cas had dropped his bags, grabbed Dean by the collar, and kissed him within an inch of his life. 

In the middle of the airport. 

Dean still can’t remember if he kissed back or not. All he remembers is being speechless and dizzy the entire drive back to his apartment. He remembers telling Sam, and then regretting it immediately. He remembers Sam grinning stupidly, and making Sam swear not to bring it up. 

During the few times that Dean and Cas spoke, Dean avoided the topic like the plague, not wishing to have  _that_ conversation while Cas was halfway around the world. 

_But now…_

There’s another knock at the door, this one more impatient. 

"For God’s sake, Dean, he won’t bite! …Unless you ask him to!" Sam yells from the bathroom, his voice muffled by the sound of the shower running.

"Shut up!" Dean yells back, but he takes confident steps toward the front door and exhales before removing the lock and swinging the door open. 

"Happy birthday, Dean!" 

Dean’s jaw drops. Cas stands before him with a smile on his face and a gigantic pie in his hands. He’s wearing a party hat, and there’s a large , silver banner on the wall behind him that reads HAPPY BIRTHDAY. There’s confetti all over the floor, as well. 

"Cas —," Dean’s voice comes out strangled, and he’s not sure why.

"I know it’s a lot and I know you don’t like surprises but, dammit, it’s your birthday, so I figured you could make an exception."

"You’re not supposed to be back for another week," Dean realizes aloud, and Cas sighs.

"Dean, come on. I couldn’t miss this!" Cas takes off the hat and tosses it to the floor, and then smiles brightly. "What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t buy you a pie on your birthday?" 

Dean’s not sure what to say. Cas is looking at him like he’s the most important person in the universe, and Dean doesn’t know how to respond, because no one’s ever gone to such great lengths to make him feel special on his birthday. Not even Sam, because he knows Dean doesn’t care much for his own day of birth. He didn’t even acknowledge his birthday until he met Cas. 

"It’s… it’s too much, isn’t it," Cas is frowning now, and Dean realizes that he must have looked disappointed. 

"What? No! No, Cas I’m… You just —," Dean pinches the bridge of his nose and curses. He doesn’t know how to say,  _You’re amazing and you treat me too well and it scares me but I trust you so I let it happen but that scares me too and you kissed me and I liked it and that scares me the most, but you’re worth it,_ so he doesn’t. He doesn’t say anything. 

Instead, he kisses Cas. 

He hesitates a little at first, and it’s awkward since Cas is holding a pie the size of a pizza between them and his lips are still cold from outside and Dean’s never _really_ kissed a guy before, but after the initial hesitation, it’s as if everything else slides into place. 

Cas crowds Dean into the apartment and sets the pie down the closest surface - the back of the couch, Dean guesses. He hears a heavy slam beside them and suddenly he’s being whipped around and pressed against the back of the apartment door. 

Castiel’s body still feels cold, but everything is so  _so hot_ and Dean’s hands are all over him, feeling him, learning him, and it’s all too much but Dean can’t get enough and then - it stops. 

"Dean," Cas backs away, biting his lip, "Is this what you want?"

Dean blinks and his brain comes down from the adrenaline rush. “Honestly?” He starts, “I don’t even know what  _this_ is, but…but it’s you. You’re here, and you brought me pie, and you filled my apartment with fucking  _balloons,_ like I’m six years old, and no one has ever cared about me like you do.” 

It’s Cas’s turn to blink and stare blankly at Dean, and for a moment, Dean’s worried that he got it all wrong, said the wrong thing, screwed everything up before it even had a chance to start, but then Cas smiles.

And just like that, it’s all okay.

"You’re special, Dean," he says, "I’ve known it since I met you. I didn’t have the guts to do anything about until I realized I was leaving the country, and I thought, What if the plane crashes, and he doesn’t know?"

"So you kissed me because you thought you were gonna die?"

"Hey, you said it yourself - airplanes are flying metal deathtraps. I was simply taking precautions."

They both laugh at that; Dean’s paranoia about planes is Cas’s favorite thing about Dean, and he never misses a chance to rub it in. 

Dean realizes then just how much he’s missed his best friend. 

"I missed you," he says before he can stop himself, "Fuck, I missed you, Cas," he repeats, and Cas kisses him again before wrapping his arms around Dean’s shoulders.

"I missed you, too," Cas whispers, and buries his face in Dean’s neck, carding fingers though his hair. 

"Well, don’t you two look comfy."

Dean looks up to find Sam, fully dressed, hair dripping wet, smirking at them from the hallway. 

"Bitch," Dean mutters, flipping Sam the bird. 

"Jerk!" Sam laughs, "Anyway, it’s nice to see you, Cas! How was Italy?"

"Foreign," Cas answers, "and colder than I expected." 

Sam chuckles, “I bet. Well, now you have Dean to warm you up -.”

“ _God,_ Sam!”

”- so I think you’ll be just fine. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get coffee with Jess.” Sam heads for the door but stares them down before walking out of the apartment. “No sex on the couch, okay? That’s all I ask.”

"Jesus — Sammy!" Dean covers his face with one hand. "I hope you catch pneumonia."

"Love you too, big brother!" Sam smiles and closes the door behind him, leaving Dean and Cas alone. 

"I missed Sam. He know just how to get you all flustered. It’s cute." Cas is grinning, and Dean rolls his eyes, moving to pick up the pie to place it on the kitchen table.

"I’m not sharing any of this," he threatens, hearing Cas follow him into the kitchen. Cas’s arms wrap around his middle from behind and he kisses Dean on the back of his neck. 

"That’s okay," he whispers, voice suddenly an octave lower, "There are…other things I’d rather do with my mouth today."

Dean’s breath catches at that, but he doesn’t waste any time pulling Cas into his bedroom. 

Two hours later finds them half naked, half asleep, and wrapped in Dean’s blankets, and before drifting off, Dean smiles and declares, “Best. Birthday. Ever.” 


End file.
